America's Cup remains on track while review under way

May 15, 2013
|

A 72-foot-long catamaran floats upside down on May 10, 2013, in San Francisco after it capsized during a practice for the America's Cup. Sailor Andrew "Bart" Simpson died in the accident. / Noah Berger, AP

by USA TODAY

by USA TODAY

SAN FRANCISCO â?? Organizers of the America's Cup said emphatically that the race will go on as scheduled but have appointed a committee to review last week's deadly accident in San Francisco Bay that took the life of Olympic medalist Andrew "Bart" Simpson.

"The America's Cup remains on track and racing will take place this summer," said Tom Ehman, vice commodore of the Golden Gate Yacht Club, which is an America's Cup trustee.

Ehman and America's Cup Regatta Director Iain Murray spoke Tuesday afternoon at a press conference after meeting with the four teams scheduled to take part in the summer racing series.

Simpson, 36, who won gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and a silver four years later, died when his Artemis Racing team boat nosedived and broke into pieces Thursday.

He became trapped for at least 10 minutes under a section of the high-speed AC72 class of yacht. Doctors were unable to revive him.

Murray will chair the six-person committee, which includes a panel of sailing experts from the United States, France and New Zealand.

Murray, a decorated sailor from Australia and an America's Cup veteran, said the committee would examine everything from how the new class of high-speed, high risk catamarans sail to their design and conditions in which they will be sailing on San Francisco Bay. It will then make recommendations to the race organization and competitors.

The U.S. Coast Guard and the San Francisco Police Department will assist in the review.

"We have an open book at what we want to look at and unfettered access to the people that we need to talk to," said Murray, adding that he has full support of the four teams entered in the America's Cup.

The teams include the defender, Team Oracle USA, and three challengers, Sweden's Artemis Racing, Luna Rossa of Italy and Team New Zealand.

Murray also conducted a review last fall after Oracle's AC72 capsized, broke apart and was dragged out to sea in conditions considered rougher than last week. No sailors were seriously injured in the October incident.

"We will come up with some things that benefit all the sport and make our sport and our event this summer a lot safer," Murray told a small group of reporters later.

Officials said the review would begin Thursday, when training for the competition is also expected to resume. No deadline has been set for its completion.

"Obviously time is of the essence," said Murray, referring to the challenge portion of the competition that begins in seven weeks. The victor goes on to face Team Oracle in September.

"I would hope we'd have something significant to talk about in a couple weeks," he added.

The two boating accidents in seven months have laid bare the tension between the new-fangled boats that organizers hope will create an exciting, fan-friendly competition and the dangers they present.

The multi-hull AC72 class of yachts can reach speeds of up to 40 knots (46 mph), which has required new equipment such as crash helmets and oxygen canisters for sailors.

Various media reports in recent days have cited sailors or their family members saying the Artemis boat likely suffered a structural failure.

An article in Australia's Newcastle Herald quoted the father of Nathan Outteridge, who was at the helm when the Artemis yacht crashed, saying that his son told him that he heard a crack and that the boat folded onto itself "like a taco shell."

On Tuesday, Ehman called that report "grossly inaccurate." Artemis also put out a statement on its website saying the article did "not reflect the facts."

Still, a cocoon-like silence has descended on teams as they sort through one of the biggest tragedies in the event's 162-year history.

Organizers said they met on Tuesday morning with representatives from all four boats and received unanimous support for the review.

While the mood was described as "subdued," they said that they expected all teams entered to compete this summer.

Murray later told reporters that the new boats were like marrying "a fighter plane to a submarine," with a level of sophistication and complexity that was "inherently dangerous."

"These boats are big, they're fast, they're powerful and they're developing," he said. "We just need to take a step back and say, 'Let us understand where you guys are. Now let's put the focus on making these boats safe."